Trolley-guard.



S. G. DISTEFANO.

TROLLEY GUARD.

APPLICATION IIL-ED rmm, 1012.

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SAMUEL C. DISTEFANO, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

TROLLEY-G'UARD.

Specification of Letters Patent.

rammed Oct. 1M2.

Application filed February 8, 1912. Serial No. 676.167.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SAMUEL C. Disru- FANO, acitizen of the'United States, residing at Baltimore, State of Maryland,have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Guards, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in trolley guards, and is designedparticularly for use with electric railway cars using the overheadtrolley system.

The prime object of the invention is the provision of means forpreventing the trolley wheel of an electric car from leaving the Wire orconductor in accidental manner, as for instance when rounding a curve onthe road, or at other places where the wheel is likely to be displacedfrom contact with the conductor or wire.

The invention consists essentially of a pair of pivoted and springpressed guard arms or levers, and in the particular construction andarrangement of these guards in their relation to the trolley harp.

By the utilization of my device as hereinafter described, a simple,inexpensive, durable, and compact device is provided that willaccomplish the purposes and results of a comparatively perfect trolleyguard.

In the drawings I have illustrated one example of the physicalembodiment of my invention constructed according to the sim plest andbest mode I have so far devised for the practical application of theprinciples.

Figure 1 is a side view showing my invention embodied and in use with atrolley wheel. Fig. 2 is a rear end view looking from the right inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 33 Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is asectional view on line 4-4: Fig. 1.

-I have illustrated my device as applied to the usual or standardconstruction of contact device which comprises the trolley wheel 1adapted to travel in contact with the conductor wire 2, the wheel beingsupported on its shaft 3 journaled in the forked ends 4:, 4, of thetrolley harp 5. The harp is attached as usual, by means of the socket 6to the upper end of the pole 7, the latter being connected with the roofof a railway car in any suitable manner.

The device may be applied to trolley harps already in use, with butslight alteration, or a specially designed harp may be used, but asillustrated in the drawings, each fork of the harp is cut away to forman open slot 8, S, and just below the lower end of the slot, on theoutside of the forked end is formed a pair of integral perforated cars9. At the upper open end of the slot and at each side thereof, projectsa boss 10, with which is integrally formed a cup or socket 11, whichlatter bridges the slot 8. These elements I have shown as integral withthe forked arms of the trolley, but it will be understood that they maybe bolted to the arms, as separate pieces if desired.

At the outside of each forked end of the harp is pivoted a guard arm 12,a bolt 13 being passed through the perforated end of the arm and alsobetween the pairs of penforated ears 9 of the forked end of the harp, acotter 14 serving to secure the bolt.

As clearly seen in Fig. 3, the body of the guard arm is not on the samevertical plane with the pivot bolt, but is inset, and when in properlocation fills the slot 8 of the forked trolley harp end. A. spring 15is incased within the cup or socket 11 and this spring bears against theguard arm and urges it toward the wheel at all times.

The upper end of each guard arm is formed with a turned in end 16 whichis pointed, as at 17, and these ends project over the periphery of thetrolley wheel and also over the wire or conductor 2, to form a guardagainst the displacement of the wheel from the wire. Thus the pointedends 16 of the guard arms will hold the wheel applied to the conductor2, and the springs 15 form an elastic medium for holding the guard armsin proper position. When disengaging the trolley from the wire, the armsmay be moved or swung outwardly on their pivots, against the springs 15,to free the trolley from the wire.

To prevent the springs forcing the guard arms against the wheel, ashoulder 18 is provided on each arm which engages the forked end at thelower side wall of the slot 8.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desireto secure by Letters Patent is 1. The combination with a trolley wheel,and the forked ends of the supporting harp formed with recesses orslots, of a guard arm pivoted at each side of the harp and said armsseated in said slots, an integral cup formed on each forked end andlocated over one of said slots, and a coiled spring in said cup bearingagainst the guard arm.

2. The combination with the slotted forked ends of a supporting harp anda trolley Wheel, an integral cup formed at the outside of each harp endand located over a slot, a guard arm pivoted on each forked end andlocated in a slot, a shoulder on the arm bearing against a wall of theslot, and a spring inclosed in said cup bearing on said arm.

3. The combination with the slotted forked ends of a supporting harp,and a trolley wheel, an integral cup formed at the out side of eachforked end and located over a slot, a guard arm formed with a hooked endand pivoted at its other end on each forked end, and located in a slot,a shoulder on the arm bearingagainst a wall of the slot, and 20 a springlnclosed in said cup loearmg on Copies of this patent may be obtainedfor five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

